Greene, Loomer get into back-and-forth over ‘racist’ Harris attack
Two top allies of former President Trump are warring on social media about a bigoted social media post mocking Vice President Harris’s Indian heritage, exposing fault lines within the Republican presidential candidate’s inner circle.
Right-wing activist Laura Loomer, a former congressional candidate with a lengthy history of anti-Muslim comments, and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) have been engaged in a war of words on the social platform X, with Greene calling Loomer “appalling and extremely racist” for her recent comments.
Loomer quoted a Sunday post in which Harris was talking about her Indian heritage and said that if she wins the election, “the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center and the American people will only be able to convey their feedback through a customer satisfaction survey at the end of the call that nobody will understand.”
On Wednesday night, three days after Loomer’s post, Greene posted a response saying the comment “does not represent who we are as Republicans or MAGA. This does not represent President Trump. This type of behavior should not be tolerated ever.”
The two Trump allies have since been in an intense back-and-forth on X, with Loomer calling Greene a “raging antisemite” and defending her initial post as a “funny joke about Kamala Harris” using “her Indian mom as a way to dodge questions.”
Greene, who has also come under criticism for fanning antisemitic conspiracy theories, slammed Loomer’s comments in another post, adding that “when it comes to post that are flat out racist, hateful, and make President Trump look bad, she needs to be responsible and delete them.”
Loomer also repeatedly attacked Greene over her divorce. “Along with being an anti semite, MTG is also a poor excuse for a Christian,” Loomer wrote in one post.
This public feud played out as Loomer was spotted accompanying Trump as he commemorated the anniversary of 9/11 in New York and Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
Loomer, who previously called the 9/11 attacks an “inside job,” told The Associated Press that she doesn’t work for the Trump campaign and that she was “invited as a guest.” She did not respond to questions about her past statements about 9/11.
She was also spotted departing Trump’s plane when he landed in Philadelphia for Tuesday’s debate against Harris.
Loomer said that Greene’s attacks on X were motivated by jealousy. “Nobody talks about her anymore because she’s annoying and irrelevant and a sellout,” she wrote in one post.
Loomer has also pushed false conspiracy theories about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, gaining national attention. The unfounded claims were later repeated by Trump during his debate against Harris, as well as amplified by his running mate Sen. JD Vance (Ohio).
Reached for comment, Greene’s office pointed to comments she made on the Capitol steps, saying she has “concerns about her rhetoric and her hateful tone.”
“Laura Loomer’s outright lies, instability, and manic toxicity have no place in MAGA,” Greene posted on X.
Loomer posted that she would not be replying to requests for comment on X. “To the many reporters who are calling me and obsessively asking me to talk to them today, the answer is no.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre responded Thursday to when asked about Loomer’s comments on Harris’s Indian heritage, adding that “No leader should ever associate with someone who spreads this kind of ugliness, this kind of racist poison.”
“It is repugnant, these types of comments. It is un-American to say these kinds of things.”
Jean-Pierre also added on false claims of immigrants in Ohio that have been spread by Trump and Vance that, “Maybe we should not have leaders who fall for fake internet conspiracy theories.”
“We should think about that. Our country deserves better,” she added at the White House press briefing.
The two women have a history of engaging in public spats after Greene publicly warned Trump against hiring Loomer last year, calling her “mentally unstable” and a “documented liar.”
The New York Times reported that Trump met with Loomer last year and directed advisers to give her a position supporting his candidacy, potentially with the campaign itself or with a super PAC aligned with the former president’s 2024 White House bid.
A Trump campaign official later confirmed to The Hill that Loomer was not being hired. She confirmed her employment status in a post Wednesday.
“I do not work for President Trump. I do not work for anyone, actually. I operate independently out of my love for my country and a love for the truth,” she wrote.
—Updated at 3:37 p.m. ET
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
